Holy moly! I had no idea how expensive EMS services were-

[solferino]

we just got a statement from the one that brought DH to the ER last week. Does medical insurance usually cover ambulance rides as well as the ER visit or should I be bracing myself to write the check?

I'm just shaking my head at how much the bill is. OMG, he's going to have another concussion after passing out when he sees it. Kidding, of course but holy crap!

 

[DVC Sadie]

Our health insurance covers both EMS and ER services except for 30.00 which is our co-pay. Call your insurance company and ask if the EMS portion is covered. They will probably tell you to wait until they receive the bill from EMS.

Hope your dh feels well soon.

 

[DrCavin]

Insane isnt it!!! Be thankful they did not have to perform any life-saving procedures!!! I do believe that many insurance plans will cover it.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I had a bill from a son last year - it was $200. Our insurance paid $180 and I paid a $20 co-pay.

Well actually the person responsible for the son having to take the ambulance ride paid it after the Judge ordered him to, but that is another story.

 

[solferino]

I had a bill from a son last year - it was $200. Our insurance paid $180 and I paid a $20 co-pay.

Well actually the person responsible for the son having to take the ambulance ride paid it after the Judge ordered him to, but that is another story.

I would have no problem with a 200 bill! The one we got is equal to half of what the hotel and MYWD package for 3 off us cost. How bad is it when you compare an unexpected bill to a WDW package anyways?

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I'm wondering - do you have a Private Ambulance Service or is it connected to your Fire Department?

 

[JR6ooo4]

What is the big secrecy over the amount. I kind of expected to see a number to know whether to be shocked with you or not.

Mikeeee

 

[John VN]

After our crash, I walked into ambulance and wife was on stretcher when they got her in ambulance. She got worked on and I just layed down and got strapped in. A 4.5 mile ride to ER and $1000+ with her's being $20 charge higher than mine. Go figure.

It will be taken care of.

Fire Dept. vehicle.

 

[solferino]

I'm wondering - do you have a Private Ambulance Service or is it connected to your Fire Department?

This happened in Cambridge/Boston- (we live an hour and a half away from the city) The statement appears as if it's through a private agency, but may be tied to the municipal EMS, I don't know.

What is the big secrecy over the amount. I kind of expected to see a number to know whether to be shocked with you or not.

Mikeeee

1500.00

 

[Free4Life11]

Our ambulance is through fire department. 1 mile ride for me was $560. This was in April. Have yet to see a bill. Fire Department website has no information as to who to pay?! Interesting that the amublance charge is not advertised anywhere on the website. If I'd have known I never would have went.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

After reading this and other similar threads, I'm never moving out of Richmond. EMS services here carry no charge as long as it is a true emergency. If you need to be transported between hospitals then you would have to hire a private ambulance. But as far as an emergency is concerned - accident, chest pains, broken limb.. it's free. They run on donations.

 

[JimB.]

Wow. That Is A LOT of Dough............

I am a FF/PM in a Fire/Rescue/EMS dept. A "BLS" transport in our service is about $250 +$6/mile. An ALS transport is $450 +$6/mile. If we come to your house and treat you, and you then refuse transport to the hospital, we charge nothing.

Most insurance will cover a transport for a "true" emergency (which THEY determine, not YOU) to the CLOSEST appropriate facility (once again, determined by THEM, not YOU). If you want to go to a hospital farther away than one closer, insurance isn't going to pick up the difference.

When you call the ambulance so you get wheeled in the back of the ER as opposed to waiting up front, it's going to cost you a LOT more. As it should.


And our dept writes off about 1/3 of it's billings every year. That's 1/3 of 10,000 transports a year. By people who's insurance didn't cover the ride for a cold and simply refuse to or cannot afford to pay.

And medicare/medicaid will not pay unless someone is just about dead. Their standard operating procedure is to refuse EVERYTHING and to make the billing agency jump through hoops like a trained poodle to get any reimbursement at all.

 

[John VN]

Was that $1500 for a 1 1/5hr. transport?

Dang, ours was like 12 minutes although it seemed and felt like forever.

 

[Camicar]

A few years ago dd was having an asthma episode and the doctor insisted she had to go via city ambulance to the hospital which was 8 blocks away. Because we were not city residents, the bill was $500 for A RIDE. They did not do anything other than transport her basically like a taxi. I shudder to think what the bill would have been had they had to perform any procedure on her.

Insurance covered all but $50.

 

[FroggyinArk]

oct 2003



2 miles from accident scene to local hospital.


fire dept van.


3500.00


later same night...


200 miles transfer to university of miss jackson


same van.


same driver and emt



2500.00


no coverage for the ride till drunks ins payed out.

 

[solferino]

Was that $1500 for a 1 1/5hr. transport?

Dang, ours was like 12 minutes although it seemed and felt like forever.

No, that was for about 3-4 miles to Beth-Israel Deaconess ER. He was at a race in Boston and crashed. I had to go pick him up with his brother and bro's wife.

See backstory here

 

[kilee]

We too have a local volunteer service in our area as well. Otherwise- if you need ALS- then they call in the "hired" ambulance and it runs about $500-750.00 per transport to the local hospital.

 

[terri01p]

My dd had same day surgery and wasn't doing good afterwards so she was moved to the main hospital directly across the street. It cost a cool 700.00 bucks for that.

 

[Poohgirl]

A few months ago while I was visiting in CT, I was transported from an offsite medical facility to their hospital, it was 15 miles. The bill was over 1500.00. I got stuck paying 800 because I hadn't met my deductible yet... Although I don't remember much, they did nothing lifesaving, just transport. Amazing how much some things cost!

 

[Disney Doll]

I think most of the time health insurance pays it, or at least some portion of it.